In the Loop: Sisters Donate Kidneys to Uncles Exactly 8 Years Apart

March 30, 2016

Greg McFarlane and his brother, Wain, have always shared a special bond. Together with their brothers Julian and Micah, the siblings founded the reggae band Ipso Facto in the early 1980s in Minneapolis, and have spent most of their lives making music together. "We eat, sleep and play together," says Greg. "He's my friend, my brother, my everything." So when Wain came to Mayo Clinic for a kidney transplant on Feb. 26, 2008, there was no question Greg would be there by his side. He was also there to support another family member: niece Yai Tieh, who was donating one of her kidneys to her uncle, reports KARE-11 TV.

After visiting Wain after his surgery, Greg tells us he remembers being glad it wasn't him. But five years later, Greg found himself following in his older brother's footsteps when he, too, was diagnosed with kidney disease. And last year, after years of dialysis, he was told he would need a kidney transplant to survive. "Without one I would die," Greg tells KARE-11. "There's no 'maybe' about it." Read the rest of Greg's story.